


lord commander of the tartguard

by JayQueenofHugs (bifangirl)



Series: Dimension 20 Character Studies [2]
Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24154324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bifangirl/pseuds/JayQueenofHugs
Summary: It is an honour.
Series: Dimension 20 Character Studies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740490
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	lord commander of the tartguard

**Author's Note:**

> A Theo character study (spoilers for ACoC 5)

In a short amount of time, Theo is knighted by King Jadain and then appointed ward to Princess Lazuli. There’s a certain amount of awe and pride he feels at the position he’s been given. Archmage Lazuli is different than he expected, she spends a great deal of time studying and reading books, practicing magic. And then, one day, she offers to teach him how to use magic. He isn’t the best at it, but he does try, and he eventually starts to enjoy it. And at no point does he regret becoming a knight, regret becoming ward to Lazuli.  _ It is an honour. _

Then the Ravening War happens and everything gets turned upside down. Candia is thrown into chaos and everything happens too quickly to keep up with. One by one, the Rocks sisters fall in battle until only General Rococoa and Archmage Lazuli are left. And when Lazuli tells him to go, when she saves his life, he doesn’t want to listen to her. But somewhere in his mind, a voice tells him that this might be the last thing Lazuli tells him, and he can't bring himself to ignore her. He’s filled with guilt as he leaves, but still he promises to remember all she’s taught him, to remember all of her research that she told him about. He will keep all of her knowledge from dying with her, he won’t fail her through that.  _ It is an honour. _

After the war, the castle changes quite a bit. No one frustrates Theo more than Chancellor Lapin does. Primogen of the Bulbian Church, a miracle worker, someone who’s voice drones on and on for an unbelievable amount of time, the royal tutor. They butt heads quite a bit, and Theo often goes out of his way to avoid Lapin. Queen Caramelinda commands his respect with her authority and intelligence. And King Amethar, of course, while never expected to be king, commands quite a bit of respect from Theo. He’s glad to serve his king.  _ It is an honour. _

The twin princesses frustrate him to no end with their shenanigans, all their sneaking down to Dulcington while he fully knows the risk of enemies. Princess Jet is constantly asking to learn how to fight while Princess Ruby’s interests are always changing. When they sneak out on their 18th Saint’s Day and he spends far too long arguing with the Chancellor, there’s something in the back of his mind asking what would happen if one of their enemies found them. But when his king gives the princesses their aunts’ weapons, he catches himself staring at Lazuli’s bow before he can stop himself. He thinks, just for a moment, that Lazuli would be proud to know that Princess Ruby now holds Sourscratch. And while Princess Jet trains with Flickerish against him, he vows once again to protect them from harm.  _ It is an honour. _

The attack on the way to Comida brings out his guilt more than anything else. Ruby was on top of the carriage, he was supposed to be protecting her, and he had failed to stop the bolts from piercing her body. Jet reveals something about Lapin, something he files away in his mind to talk about later, focusing on the battle at hand. He throws himself into the battle in order to do what it takes to protect everyone there. And when he takes a crossbow bolt for his king, when he protects the royal family, when he provokes the leader into attacking him, he cares only about those he is fighting with.  _ It is an honour. _

After the fight, when they’ve returned to the carriage, Theo knows he needs to tell the twins about Lazuli, he knows they all need to talk about magic. Convincing Jet to listen to them takes some time, and even then the twin princesses are argumentative. It isn’t until his king gives a speech that they agree to hear them out. And after they have all talked about magic, Theo takes the princesses (and Liam) to the side. He tells them about Lazuli, about her research and her magic, promises to help Ruby learn magic while he himself continues to learn. And when Ruby learns Find Familiar and summons Yak, he feels a great sense of pride to be helping teach her.  _ It is an honour. _

Theo enters the joust, knowing just how valuable it would be to be able to name a candidate to be the Emperor’s successor. King Amethar and Jet enter the melee while Liam and Ruby enter the archery competition, Lapin watching from the side. Something in his mind tells him he shouldn’t separate himself from his king, but something else tells him that it’s just a tournament, that a nomination is far too important for no Candian to enter the joust. He unhorses Plumbeline in the first round, goes to help her up but understands when she slaps his hand away. This gives him the freedom to watch the other events and he watches his king disqualify himself from the melee, watches Scravoya continue to attack him. He rushes over and disarms her quickly, standing guard over his king to protect him from assassination.  _ It is an honour. _

When Theo, Calroy, and Lapin talk about what to do about Liam, a thought pops into Theo’s head. He’s the Lord Commander of the Tartguard, he could knight Liam, keep him alive at the very least. After all, Liam had saved the king’s life, even though he had put a target on his own back while he was doing it. And afterwards, when they are going to interrogate Keradin, when Lapin asks to be left alone with the prisoner and then reemerges with vital information, Theo’s mind is fully on the task at hand. The three go to arrest Alfredi, having no qualms about it despite her status as a miracle worker. She had assisted in the assassination attempt against King Amethar and Theo’s job is to guard and protect the Rocks Family.  _ It is an honour. _

Even while they talk about who he should nominate, Theo knows for certain what he’s going to do. His mind has been made up, who better to nominate than his king? And so he goes to the Emperor’s bedside and recites his king’s full title. He ignores King Amethar’s protests and attempts to stop him because this is too important a moment to say anything less than all of his king’s titles. And when he bows and leaves the room, he feels a certain amount of pride in nominating his king.  _ It is an honour. _

Lapin comes to the room with dozens of knights to arrest Liam and Theo hesitates a moment before sending him a Message. If the Chancellor hadn’t proven himself by healing King Amethar on the way to Comida, Theo might have thought worse of him. The tension in the air is palpable as King Amethar looks at him and Liam rambles in fear. The twins offer to stay the night in jail with Liam, but there’s no way Theo is letting that happen. And so Theo offers to leave Battlepop behind and stay with Liam overnight, watching over him.  _ It is an honour. _

The bells ring out in mourning and Theo knows for certain that the Emperor is dead and the paperwork was never completed. The Pontifex asks who was present when his king was named successor and he stands without hesitation. They look to the Lady Plumbeline and Theo can tell that something is coming. And when the truth drops, King Amethar is excommunicated, and the Pontifex calls out to the guards, he feels an overwhelming sense of dread. But he refuses to leave his king’s side, he will not stop fighting for him. Dying for his king isn’t something he fears -  _ it is an honour. _

**Author's Note:**

> 1) Sorry for being Canadian (how I spell honour)  
> 2) Uhhhhhhhh I guess I'm doing these for all of the Taste Buds now?


End file.
